Candidates We Can Get Fired Up About

I'm supporting a local candidate who was indeed a former State Senator, and is courted by the national party. But does that mean he is DLC? I won't name names since I this discussion is bigger than wooing supporters to my candidate, but you're welcome to flip through my previous posts.

He is a adamant supporter of campaign finance reform. He was called a "lone ranger in the fight against special interest". He introduced the legislation that banned drilling for oil underneath the Great Lakes. At Yearly Kos he discussed reforming the earmark process. He "shrugs off" CAFE reform by suggesting we dump fleet standards and set standards based on vehicle type, but ultimately the end goal is to get away from foreign oil.

I've seen him speak at multiple local Democratic clubs in district, and get standing ovations each time with activists chanting for him to run.

I can promise he's not going to run off to Congress and join the Blue Dogs. We're talking about someone who was as upset as the rest of us about the Iraq capitulation, FISA vote, and our own state's Senator voting to approve the Military Commission Act.

We definitely need to support progressives. But we need to be careful as we decide who WE support, and who we let the old school institutions support on their own. I happen to think the candidate I'm excited about will make an exceptional legislator because he shares our progressive values AND he has the experience of serving in the State Senate.

I do want to say I did not expect this guy to be so progressive when I first saw him, so I don't blame anyone else who feels the same way. So I encourage the netroots to dig into the records of some of these candidates. I did, and I found a progressive "diamond in the rough".

I'm interested in this discussion though. Does DCCC support always mean the candidate is DLC?

I'm proud to work for Gary Peters, because Joe Knollenberg is out of touch.

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by: JordanOOO @ Thu Aug 16, 2007 at 20:40:09 PM UTC

No

DCCC doesn't always mean DLC.

I am playing a little loose with terminology.  I'm really referring to the Party establishment.  Those that have been running the party for years. 

DCCC seems to prefer candidates for Congress that have been in state legislatures over candidates without experience, but who are qualified and progressive.  For example,  Carol Shea-Porter. 

Who was the guy who was running for Congress in Ohio, and lost but he was a veteran and was a netroots favorite and wanted to run for US Senate but was basically cut out by the party?  I can't think of his name.  That may not have been the DLC or the DCCC, but it was the Dem Party establishment who did that.

And wasn't Cegalis the netroots candidate in IL-06 but DCCC and the Party establishment wanted Duckworth? 

 

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by: NetrootsProgressive @ Thu Aug 16, 2007 at 21:35:40 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Paul Hackett in Ohio.

But that isn't a particularly great example, as Sherrod Brown won the primary and the general election and is a very reliable progressive vote.

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by: James L. @ Thu Aug 16, 2007 at 21:44:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Point Taken

In retrospect it may well have been a good decision in Ohio.  But I don't think Hackett was ever a DCCC/DSCC selected son and so it is an example of a power play by the party insiders to get their candidate in place. 

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by: NetrootsProgressive @ Fri Aug 17, 2007 at 05:29:35 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

"netroots candidate"

The netroots is a blend of voices and views. Do we really want to start endorsing candidates in the same way that those who man the "gates" we are trying to crash do?

I love State Legislative politics. State Reps and State Senators (at least here in Michigan) spend tons of time in the field, hitting the doors. They KNOW their districts and they know their constituents...and their constituents know them. I love watching Michigan State Rep (and 21st Century Dem!) Andy Meisner canvass. People recognize Andy when he hits the doors, and talk to him about issues like they were talking to a neighbor.

Should he decide to give Congress a shot someday, I can certainly see why the DCCC would flock to him. I'm going to remember him fighting for stem cell research more than I'm going to worry about whether he is selling out to Party Bosses.

The DCCC targets State legislators because they have a rapport with their districts and legislative/voting records. It is much easier to secure funding and endorsements for candidates with these records, and much easier to get votes when the candidate is a known public servant. I'm not saying we should only support these candidates like the institution does, but we should use these to our advantage in the same way the DCCC does.

Does your district have a "Watch Blog"? (In MI-09, we have http://www.VoteNoOnJ... ) These blogs should examine any public record of potential candidates, but especially DCCC candidates. Let's do our own homework to decide if a candidate has a record of standing up for our values, or standing up for DLC-esque values.

I'm proud to work for Gary Peters, because Joe Knollenberg is out of touch.

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by: JordanOOO @ Thu Aug 16, 2007 at 22:18:57 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

You've Done a Better Job Than I have at

distilling out my point.

I didn't mean to imply that just because a candidate is a DCCC selected son that they are a bad candidate.

Surely there are some excellent candidates that are also DCCC favorities. 

My perspective is that we came in with all this energy to crash the gates and rather than crash we are just blending in.

There is nothing wrong with working on the inside.  In fact I think one of the more successful aspects of this movement has been to have netroots activists play increasingly more important roles in state and local party organizations.

My concern is that we shouldn't choose candidates because they were state reps and then state senators and then want to run for Congress.  There are far better criteria to use. 

Was Russ Feingold a party favorite?  Was Paul Wellstone a party favorite?  (I really don't know the answer, but I surely wouldn't want to get caught up in old school Dem thinking that would reject others like them in favor of someone who has merely "paid their dues" to the party.

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by: NetrootsProgressive @ Fri Aug 17, 2007 at 05:38:11 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I started this diary out of frustration today

My frustration has been building for months as I watch our Democratic candidates capitulate to whatever Bush tells them to do.  I think I am particularly urked by the smirk on Rove's face as he leaves knowing he trounced the Democrats.

It is like dating.  If you keep dating the same kind of person and it keeps ending up badly, you need to think why you keep choosing the same kind of person over and over again.

It's the old definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result.

Part of the problem with the DCCC/DSCC/DNC is that they are all of same beltway mentality.  And that mentality is very entrenched and they don't want to lose any of their power to any "pajama bloggers". 

These campaigns, particuarly for the House and Senate are worth hundreds of millions of dollars.  The revolving door between the DCCC/DSCC/DNC and democratic "consultants" all want to control that money.  They think only they understand the message that Dems should get out to the public.  We've watched for 20 years while they were wrong.

We started promoting exciting new candidates who weren't tied to the old school power structure -- and we started to win.

So I'm frustrated when I see progressives -- particularly those on the bigger sites, start to line up behind the traditional Dem candidates rather than even consider more progressive netroot candidates. Even if that means doing some groundwork to find a netroot candidate.

Again, I'm not advocating going after Dem incumbents, I'm thinking about challengers to incumbent Reps or open seats. 

I think Markos statements last week on MTP about candidates being willing to differentiate themselves from Republicans rather than try to blend in. 

Reading those editorials in WP from Harold Ford and Markos are very insightful and inspiring. 

I just don't want to see us all get inspired to get involved and then just flock to the candidates chosen by those who have had the power in the party for the past 50 years.

Given your questions and those of James L., I recognize that my post is strong on opinion and light on facts. 

I'm going to give this more thought and post something in followup with more specifics. 

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by: NetrootsProgressive @ Fri Aug 17, 2007 at 05:52:41 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Be specific.

I can't count the races I've seen already where there is some state senator or state rep who is now going to run for Congress with the urging and blessing of the DCCC and DNC and state Party's.  And it seems our netroots activists are flocking to them.  Even though these candidates are much closer to DLC Dems than they are to being Progressive Dems.

Name them.  Name all of these DLC Dems that we (as in blogs) have been flocking to support in the 2008 Election cycle.

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by: James L. @ Thu Aug 16, 2007 at 21:10:33 PM UTC

Fair enough

I'll give you some examples of the races I'm thinking about.

Give me a few minutes

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by: NetrootsProgressive @ Thu Aug 16, 2007 at 21:23:44 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I haven't forgotten

You challenged me to be more specific -- I haven't forgotten.  I'm doing some research so I can do a more comprehensive diary.

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by: NetrootsProgressive @ Tue Aug 21, 2007 at 18:10:49 PM UTC

[ Parent ]